I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is peak cozy, and I am 100% here for it.

I adore the role of magic, the research and experimentation that ensue to get it right, and the sometimes fun and unexpected results that follow amateur magical spellwork.

One of the central themes focuses on finding and building home. Between Kiela's parents' past expectations and the potential of the future at hand, Kiela struggles to figure out what she wants after she's uprooted, let alone whether or not she can obtain it.

Part of building home in this book is developing a strong found family, not just for Kiela but for other characters as well. I loved meeting the quirky, diverse characters as Kiela did; the sentient plants, bear-shaped tree spirits, a baker, a flying healer, a four-armed harpist, merpeople, merhorses, winged cats, and even a chicken are all treated as equally important. The found family grows in branches and strength very organically and satisfyingly throughout the story, culminating in the safety net that gets everyone through the challenges they face, stronger together.

Another central thread I like is the importance of kindness. Fortunately the book doesn't promote toxic kindness no matter how horrible people are—it doesn't excuse/ignore characters' terrible actions—but it does show how kindness as the flip side of that coin is a choice that can and often should be made.

It's a delight to watch Kiela, our socially awkward main character, come into her own as she builds her connections, her survival strategy, her confidence, and her convictions. She doesn't inherently change who she is—she's still a socially awkward introvert—but she has the opportunity to really define herself and finds a place that welcomes her as she is. Her internal monologue as she considers how to respond to situations resonates very strongly with me and probably will to any other socially awkward introvert.

The romance is woven in with all the other plotlines and is very cute and satisfying. The amount of times Kiela mentioned Larran's tallness could have been reduced.

I appreciate that the book pushes against oppressive institutions in a gentle way without hiding the negative impacts such institutions have on individual and systemic levels.

The deftness with which building home, finding family, showing kindness, being yourself, resisting oppression, and doing magic unfold gradually throughout the book really makes it shine. The more I reflect on the story, the more I realize how subtly well crafted everything is.

I enjoyed every moment of reading and actively looked forward to picking the book back up again (considering I'd been in a reading rut, this is huge for me). The audiobook narrator is excellent. Highly recommend for a cozy happy time.

You might like this if you like: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna